Trigger is a niche creative photographic stock agency that manages image reproduction rights for use in the corporate, editorial, advertising and design worlds. The company is based in the East of England and currently works with over one hundred individually selected photographers. Trigger also supplies high quality prints on archival paper and stretched canvas for photographers, designers and the general public for use in the office or home.

Art Buyers

We aim to offer art buyers an inspiring resource of creative images with personal service at a great price. All our images are individually selected enabling us to offer high quality Rights Managed content to save you time and money. With all images available up to 48mb files all you have to do is register for free. If you're pushed for time we'll even search for you and send you a light box of sample images for you to browse through at your leisure. You'll get 50% discount on your first image purchase and you can get even more discounts on multiple purchases. Make sure you contact us directly for discount prices. Sign Me Up!

file sizes up to 48mb, if you have a file size query Contact Tim

flexible pricing under a rights managed license, we want to work with your budget

download digital files or purchase professional quality prints

no duplicate images

download comps for free

keyword search

create light boxes

email images to friends

all images available online

bapla member

Photographers

Trigger is built on a creative base and we are constantly looking for inspiring new photographers amateur and professional. If you think you have what it takes, get in touch today. We have reviewed thousands of photographers folios and we accept only those that meet our high creative spec.

The Trigger collection is distributed worldwide through our network of more than 50 photographic agencies and offers it's photographers the opportunity to market their existing imagery to a client base free of charge. No handling fees. No Subscription fees. No editing fees and pays it's photographers up to 65% commission on net sales. So what should you be shooting?

Think conceptual, think ideas, think emotion, not just straight forward objects.

Look at magazines and tv commercials to see what is fashionable and happening now.

Don't overuse Photoshop, use it creatively and understand your limits technically. Don't add borders!

Most publications want vertical images. So increase your chances by submitting vertical and horizontal images.

Be creative and experimental, don't stick to the norm, be different.

Don't submit different versions of the same shot, instead just pick the best one.

Don't always repeat yourself with images that have been successful! Create new ideas and images that will take your work forward.

Submit new images regularly to us so you build your stock folio and keep our clients coming back to your work. Nobody wants to see yesterdays image again and again.

Be patient. Stock photography is for the patient photographer who wants to build their income over a period of time. If you're not committed and have no patience you're probably better going to another agency.

Your images must be available to Trigger for a standard 3 year contract.

Remember, no restrictive contracts, Trigger is non-exclusive so photographers can market their work elsewhere at the same time. We just expect our photographers to be professional in their commitment.

Licensing

Stock photography grants someone the use of imagery under the terms of a license while the image still belongs to the photographer.

Trigger only supplies imagery under a Rights Managed License for a specific use and set amount of time. The price is determined by the usage required and is therefore flexible. We aim to offer the photographer and the client a good deal.

As a stock library we handle customer sales and service so the photographer can concentrate on shooting and retouching their images to make them a saleable product. We represent many photographers and market their work via our own website and a network of 50 distributors around the world and we charge a commission for the sale. No sale, no fee.

As a small specialist library we supply distinctive creative imagery that provides classic quality combined with fresh vision. We are not interested in being the biggest library, instead we aim to offer a personal service to our clients by providing high quality creative images at a fair price for our clients and photographers.

We don't restrict our photographers with prohibitive terms and so we offer a non-exclusive Contributors Agreement, this means the same images can be represented by other agencies.

All imagery must be available worldwide for a minimum period of 36 months.

If you think you can sell stock quickly you're probably mistaken. Stock is for patient people as distribution takes time. You should aim to have atleast 100 images in our galleries to have any presence amongst the 10,000 already listed and images should be updated regularly in order to attract clients to your work. Old work does not encourage sales. Remember, our clients choose the work they require and you need to satisfy their demand.

Our clients are editors for the press, editorial and advertising media. The press includes newspapers, periodic publications including travel, health, cooking, history and science magazines. Editorial includes textbooks and book covers and includes every possible subject. Advertising includes designers working for a broad range of company clients who want to project a positive view of their client.

Subject matter to consider shooting include: people : lifestyle : business : science : innovation : industry : travel : transportation : food : concepts : abstracts : fine art : nature : agriculture : sports : homes : interiors : military : etc. Do not just shoot what is simply in front of you but think of an idea and convey a message to the viewer with clear communication and impact using your creative skills.

Make sure your images are contemporary, we don't want last years model.

Shoot lots and select the best only.

Most subject matter will be local to you. ie urban environments : commerce : shopping : parks and countryside : tourism : industry : technology : native animals : culture : architecture : social problems : workplaces : environmental problems : transportation : pastimes : sport : festivals : holidays : friends and family.

Submitting Images

We have made this a simple process, but you will need to spend some time preparing your files.
Firstly you need to submit low res jpgs for review, between 30-50 images by email attachment. You must own the full copyright in all the images. We will contact you within 7 days to let you know the results of our review. If successful you can upload your high-res files directly to our servers, see our instructions below under 'Uploading Images'. You will also be sent our online subscription form, returning this confirms your acceptance of our Contributors Agreement which we advise you to read carefully. This is a legally binding contract between Trigger Image Ltd and yourself. You will then need to prepare your high res files before uploading. Stock requires big file sizes, typically 50MB when uncompressed. To achieve this you should always shoot at maximum quality at the largest size possible. You may also need to enlarge your file sizes by using interpolation. This should be done carefully in Photoshop or using Genuine Fractals software. Only enlarge from good quality tif or raw files and check for dust and imperfections. Do not send us small numbers of images every day. Collect all the photos and upload them together on a weekly or monthly basis. Your images should appear in our galleries within 7 days. If your files do not meet our quality control they may be deleted from our servers. For security only our editors will have access to your files once they have been uploaded.

High-Res File Upload Spec

File format: JPG only at maximum quality 10 or higher

Colour: Adobe RGB

Resolution: 300dpi

Pixel size: Approx 16MP (5000 x 3200)

File size: Approximately 48-55MB as uncompressed tifs. These should then be saved and uploaded as high quality jpg files.

IPTC Description: You must include a full and detailed description of the photograph.

IPTC Keywords: IMPORTANT. Keywords allow clients to find your images, they are vital. Enter words separated by commas, that describe the image, its contents and the emotion conveyed. We do not provide this service.

Model Releases: Accurate release information is your responsibility. You should always obtain signed release forms from the people in your images. If you include children you need a signed release form from their parent or guardian. Your images can only be used for commercial purposes with a license.

Property Releases: If you include private property, ie cars, boats, planes, buildings etc you need a signed release from the owner to use the image commercially.
You should keep all signed release forms safely. If our client request to see a release form we will ask you to email a copy to us.

File names: IMPORTANT. Four letters followed by five numbers. For example if your name is John Smith take the first letter of your first name 'j' followed by the first three letters 'smi' of your second name, jsmi00001, jsmi00002, jsmi00003, etc.

Uploading Images

Having had your images accepted photographers can upload high resolution jpg files direct to Trigger using the standard File Transfer Protocol (FTP). You will need an FTP client software for this such as Transmit or Fetch. You can use any FTP program to upload images to Trigger. Transfer times will vary depending on your connection speed. You can use this link to test your internet speed.

FTP client software:

Mac Transmit

Mac Fetch

Mac : PC : Linux FileZilla

PC Smartftp

PC Cuteftp

Linux Kasablanca

Linux Ftpcube

Opening your selected program the left window is your computer, the right window is our server. Select those files you want to transfer in the left window and drag and drop into the right window, or use the 'return' key on your keyboard. We aim to prepare and include your files in our licensing galleries within 7 days.

The configuration details you need to enter are:

'Server' or 'Host' should be ftp.photoshelter.com

'Username' should be 'your_name' (eg. tim_kahane)

'Password' is 'trigger'

'Protocol' should be 'FTP'

'Port' should be '21'

Click 'Connect'

Model Releases

A model release will make your image more useable and therefore more valuable. You must supply accurate model release information to Trigger in the IPTC file data. The accuracy of this information is the photographers responsibility alone. Trigger will not be held liable for any disputes relating to model releases.

A model release is a written document signed by the subject in the photograph. This states that he or she consents to being photographed and that the photograph may be used for the purpose described in the release.

A model release is always required for any photograph showing a recognizable person which is to be used 'commercially' in publishing, advertising, promotion, trade or a product endorsement. The alternative use is described as 'editorial' and refers to use to illustrate a factual article, book, news item or documentary that is newsworthy.

A property release is a written document signed by the owner of a property and gives a photographer the permission to use the photographs of the property for any commercial use.

IPTC info

Keywording: Let's be honest, keywording can be tedious but it is vital if your images are to be found amongst all the others. This is how our clients will find your work by entering these words in their search criteria. You must enter the keywords in the individual file IPTC data section. Words should be included for all the relevant objects in an image and those that describe the emotive content of the image but may not be physically present. Separate all keywords with commas, eg. car,automobile,taxi. If you have a release include MR YES or PR YES in the keywords section.

Descriptions: Every image should have a good description that is clear, precise and factual.

Title: include a short title.

Trigger is an image library supplying publishing, design and advertising clients with creative contemporary work from selected photographers.